Sunday, October 28, 2007

The Raw Story= reported Burglars in the United States could once sue homeowners if they were shot

That is sheer stupidity.

, but now a growing number of states have made it legal to shoot to kill when somebody breaks into a house. John Woodson, 46, found that out last week when he ambled into Dennis Baker's open garage in a Dallas suburb. A surveillance video showed the robber strolling inside, hands in his pockets.

Was he that nonchalant, or did he have a weapon in his pockets.

From the shadows, Baker opened fire and killed Woodson. "I just had to protect myself and that was it," Baker told reporters despite the fact Woodson had not tried to enter the bedroom near the garage where Baker had been sleeping.

He did noy belong anywhere in the house. And what makes you think he would not have gone there?

The incident made national headlines since it was Baker's parrot that gave the alarm when it innocently squawked "good morning" at the intruder.

But Woodson's death seemed anecdotal compared to another Dallas resident who a few days earlier had killed his second robber in three weeks inside his home.

Hopefully the word is getting out amongst the robbers.

Police are investigating both cases, but it is unlikely charges will be filed. Texas recently passed a law branding anybody breaking into a home or car as a real threat of injury or death to its occupants.

In contrast with traditional self-defense laws, this measure does not require that a person who opens fire on a burglar be able to prove that he or she was physically threatened, that force was used only as a last resort and that the victim had first tried to hide.

Why should you have to hide when someone breaks into your house.

Florida was the first state to adopt in 2005 a law that was dubbed "Stand your ground" or "Shoot first." But now they have proliferated largely under pressure from the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), the main weapons lobby in the United States.

Some of the pressure is coming from people tired of people breaking into their houses.

Today 19 out of 50 US states, mostly in the south and the central regions of the country, have this kind of laws, and similar legislation is pending in about a dozen others.